Eating Chocolate Can Make You Smarter

     Chocolate lovers know that eating chocolate makes them happy．Now it turns out that eating chocolate may also make them smarter．

     Dr．Bryan Raudenbush recently made a study to see how eating chocolate affects people’s brains．The U．S．researcher knew that chocolate contained several stimulants(兴奋剂)．But he wasn’t sure how those stimulants actually affected chocolate eaters．

    To find out，Raudenbush had a group of volunteers eat 85grams of milk chocolate．He asked another group to eat no chocolate at all．After l 5 minutes，he tested their memory and their ability to solve problems．

    The group that ate milk chocolate had higher scores．They were able to remember more words and pictures than the group that did not eat chocolate．Raudenbush concluded(得出结论) that the stimulants in chocolate increased mental(精神的)alertness(灵敏度)．

    Of course，eating chocolate doesn’t guarantee(保证)you’ll pass every test．You’ll still need to study hard!

1．Many people like eating chocolate because it can make them      ．

A．annoyed           B．unhappy          C．pleased           D．funny

2．The American researcher knew that       ．

  A．chocolate was a kind of stimulant

  B．there were some stimulants in chocolate

  C．chocolate contained many objects in it but not stimulants

  D．many people loved to eat it because of its stimulants

3．Why did Raudenbush ask a group of volunteers to eat chocolate?

  A．Because he thought it was exciting．

  B．Because he wasn’t sure how many people eat chocolate．

   C．Because his American friend asked him to do so．

   D．Because he wanted to know how stimulants affected the eaters of chocolate．

4．The result of the test is that       ．

   A．the stimulants in chocolate increased mental alertness．

   B．the group that ate chocolate had higher scores than the group that didn't eat

   C．one group ate chocolate but another didn’t eat it．

   D．Nothing happened to the groups．

5．If you want to pass every exam，        ．

   A．you will just eat enough chocolate

   B．you will ask the expert to have a chocolate test

   C．you will still need to study hard

D．you needn’t go to school

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain­computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated (展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts.

In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.’ Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”

The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”

He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

41. BCI is a technology that can ________.

A. help to update computer systems            B. link the human brain with computers

C. help the disabled to recover                    D. control a person's thoughts

42. How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?

A. By controlling his muscles.                     B. By talking to the machine.

C. By moving his hand.                               D. By using his mind.

43. Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

A. scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair    B. computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair

C. scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair    D. cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair

44. The team will test with real patients to ________.

A. make profits from them                         B. prove the technology useful to them

C. make them live longer                            D. learn about their physical condition

45. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Switzerland, the BCI Research Center

B. New Findings about How the Human Brain Works

C. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled

D. Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries

                             

Information is received into our brain by attention, and its quality determines (决定) how well it will be processed, saved and used afterwards.

All information we receive is chosen by our attention. Factors (因素) affecting (影响) our attention are personal interest, experience, ability, feelings, knowledge, environment, timing, and so on. The same information may attract different forms and levels of attention from different people. Some people can get and save the information easily; some may have great difficulty; while others may just turn a blind eye to it. To the same information, one may even pay different levels of attention at different times. But if the facts work together, the quality of attention may be better. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that somebody with average intelligence (智力) can have excellent performances in some fields.

The good news is that a person's attention can be shaped, trained and made stronger by effective exercise. With this in mind, we should keep improving the quality of our attention.

1."it" in Paragraph 1 means _______.

A. information       B. brain       C. attention        D. quality

2.All information we receive depends on _______.

A. information itself     B. our attention   

C. our intelligence      D. the environment

3.Which is not the factor that affects our attention according to the passage?

A. Interest and experience.            

B. Experience and knowledge.

C. Ability and feelings.               

D. Food and drinks.

4.About attention, which of the following statements is right?

A. People always have the same level of attention.

B. People pay the same attention to the same information.

C. A person may pay different levels of attention to the same information at different times.

D. All factors affecting attention never work together.

5.According to the passage, _______ can help people to make their attention better.

A. speaking more      B. effective exercise   

C. hard work     D. high intelligence

 

When we talk about intelligence(智力)，we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school．By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving(表现)，especially in a new situation．If we want to test intelligence，we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do．
For example，when in a new situation，an intelligent person thinks about the situation，not about himself or what might happen to him．He tries to find out all can be，and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it．Probably he isn’t sure how it will all work out，but at least he tries．And if he cannot make things work out right，he doesn’t feel ashamed(羞愧)that he failed，he just tries to learn from his mistakes．An intelligent person，even if he is very young，has a special outlook(看法)on life，a special feeling about life，and how he fits into it．
If you look at children，you’ll see the great differences between what we call “bright” children and “non-bright” children．They are actually two different kinds of people，not just the same kind with different amount of intelligence．For example，the bright child really wants to find out about life, and he tries to get in touch with everything around him; while the unintelligent(不聪明的) child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world：he seems to have a wall between him and life in general．
【小题1】According to this passage，intelligence is the ability to_________．

A．get some high scores on some tests

B．do well in school

C．deal with life

D．have a lot of book knowledge

【小题2】In a new situation，an intelligent person________．

A．knows more about what might happen to him

B．is sure of the result he will get

C．cares more about himself

D．keeps his mind on what to do about the situation

【小题3】If an intelligent person failed，he would_______．

A．try not to feel ashamed

B．learn from his mistakes

C．try to find all he could

D．make sure what result he would get

【小题4】Bright children and non-bright children________．

A．are two different types of children

B．are different mainly in their degree of cleverness

C．have differences only in their way of thinking

D．have different knowledge about the world

Everyone needs friends. Friends bring us happiness and hope in our lives. But the ability to make friends changes from person to person. To some people, making friends is easy, and to others it’s very difficult.

  Making friends is a skill, and the first thing is to know how to get on with others.

  If you have trouble in making friends, maybe I can tell you how to do it.

l      Realize your own good points. You have skills and talents(才能) that others will like.

l      Believe that you are a good person and have something nice to share with others.

l      Be humourous. Learn to laugh at yourself and your weakness. Remember to smile at others.

l      Respect(尊敬) the others. Everyone has his own idea. Learn how to listen to others’ ideas without trying to make them accept(接受) yours.

l      Be kind. If you are kind to others, they will usually be kind to you. There are hundreds of little things you can do to show your kindness. Open the door for someone. Wave to a friend and so on.

l      Don’t complain(抱怨). Learn to accept what you can’t change, and work hard to change what you can. No one is willing to hear your complaints all the time.

l      Never give up. Even if you are faced with some closed-minded people, never give up. And try to find someone who will understand you.

1.Why do we need friends according to the passage?

   A . Friends can do everything for us.       B. Friends can bring us happiness.

   C.  Friends accept our ideas all the time.       D. Without friends, we could not live.

2.What’s the first thing we should learn in order to make friends?

   A. To help others.                      B. To smile to others.

   C. To get on with others.                    D. To listen to others’ complaints.

3.Which of the following shows a sense of humour?

   A. Opening the door for someone.          B. Complaining to others all the time.

   C. Laughing at ourselves and our weakness.  D. Finding someone who will understand us.

4.How many pieces of advice does the writer provide when we have trouble in making    friends?

   A. Five.          B. Seven.          C. Nine.       D. Eleven.

5.What should we do when we have trouble in making friends?

   A. Respect others.   B. Complain.      C. Give up.    D. Laugh at them